Treasure EP. 1: All to Zero

Chapter 4: The Boy on the Outskirts

Hongjoong, Seonghwa, and Yeosang were walking down the trail leading away from the city. The scenery outside of the city was extraordinary. Hongjoong and Seonghwa had seen it many times before, but Yeosang was amazed. He looked around at the trees and nature. "Wow..." Yeosang said in disbelief, "So this is what the outside of the city looks like, huh?"

"Yep!" Hongjoong said, "You haven't seen it before?"

Yeosang shook his head.

"I've seen it all, several times, actually." Hongjoong said, "And it gets better every time I see it."

Hongjoong looked at the crystal. It was not glowing at all. He frowned. Seonghwa peeked over his shoulder at the dull crystal.

"Hm. That's strange." Seonghwa said.

"I know." Hongjoong said disappointedly, "I thought it would be glowing by now."

Suddenly, the crystal lit up very brightly.

"*Gasp*! There we go! We're getting close!" Hongjoong said excitedly, "But...where is he?"

Hongjoong and Seonghwa looked around. Suddenly, they heard a voice cry out,

"Help! SOMEONE HELP!!"

The three boys looked around for the source of the cry. Then Hongjoong saw someone running in the distance. It was a young boy. He looked slightly younger than Hongjoong, and he was being chased by three men in white clothes wearing face masks covered in sharp, clear diamonds. They were wielding diamond blades and were running after the boy. Hongjoong ran over to the boy and the men. Suddenly, the boy tripped and stumbled to the ground. The three men surrounded him.

"C'mon, kid." One of the men said, holding his knife to the boy's neck, "Hand over the treasure."

"No!!" The boy shouted out.

One of the men readied his dagger. Hongjoong pulled his dagger out of his pocket and ran towards the men. He stepped in front of the boy and held out the dagger.

"Hey." He said firmly, "Step away from the boy. Now."

"If you wanna protect him, you're going to have to get through us first." One of the men said.

He was taller than the others and his scarf was red instead of white. Hongjoong could tell he was the leader of them. Hongjoong readied his dagger and the leader readied his. They both clashed for a long time and the other men attacked from the sides, but Hongjoong won the fight. Defeated, the three men ran away.

"This isn't over! We'll be back!" The leader called out.

Then, the three men ran into the forest and disappeared. Hongjoong put away his dagger, then he turned around and looked at the boy on the ground. The young boy was curled up and his eyes were tightly shut. He was breathing heavily and shaking in fear. Hongjoong held out his hand to help him up. The boy opened his eyes and took Hongjoong's hand. Hongjoong helped him stand up.

"Th-thank you, sir." The boy stuttered as he brushed himself off.

"You're welcome." Hongjoong said, "What happened? Are you okay?"

The boy nodded his head.

"Y-yeah. I was walking down the trail by myself, and I was attacked by those men. They told me to hand over any treasure I had."

The boy pulled a diamond out of his pocket.

"I didn't want to let them have my diamond, so I ran. And just when I thought I was cornered, you came along and saved me!"

Hongjoong smiled. Then he saw the crystal. It was glowing very brightly.

"Hongjoong!!" Seonghwa called out.